UK to present new Brexit ‘backstop’ plan on Ireland

U.K. Brexit negotiators are developing a plan to solve the Irish border issue by keeping the whole of the U.K. aligned with a subset of the EU's single market rules, according to British officials.

The proposal — which also involves a wholly new U.K.-EU customs arrangement — aims to break the deadlock over the border question as both sides embark on a four-week push to rewrite the EU's contentious "backstop" plan for avoiding a hard Irish border.

A team of officials, including some from the U.K. customs authority, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, is coming to Brussels on Monday for the discussions, under the overall leadership of the U.K.’s chief Brexit official Olly Robbins.

Finding a solution that is acceptable to both sides — and to the Democratic Unionist Party, whose MPs Theresa May relies on in Westminster to keep her government in power — is key to forging a successful withdrawal agreement and avoiding a no-deal Brexit. Officials believe the plan being worked on in Whitehall could negate the need for border checks, without separating Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K.'s internal market.

Negotiators are striving for a deal on the terms of the Brexit divorce in time for the European Council summit in June before a final agreement in October that can then be ratified by the U.K. and European parliaments.

There is concern that the proposal will be blocked by the European Commission who may view it as a form of “cherry-picking."

According to the U.K. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the British proposal is for U.K.-wide “full alignment” single market rules and regulations for trade in goods — alongside a new customs arrangement between the U.K. and EU.

While the Irish government itself is open to the proposal, according to U.K. and EU negotiators, there is concern that it will be blocked by the European Commission, which may view it as a form of “cherry-picking,” using Ireland as a lever to win concessions on trade for the whole of the U.K.

The U.K. has argued from the start that the key to avoiding a hard border will be found in the “deep and comprehensive free-trade agreement,” which London and Brussels hope to strike sometime during the transition period after Britain has left the bloc. However, the U.K. has accepted that to first get a withdrawal agreement, it will need to sign up to a legally binding “backstop” clause to act as a guarantee that there will be no hard border even if a solution cannot be found via the proposed free-trade deal.

While British negotiators now accept the need for a backstop solution in the withdrawal agreement, they want a fundamentally different text, a U.K. official said.

Dublin appears willing to go along. Speaking as he arrived at the summit on Friday, the Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said that the British accepted the backstop, “or at least a backstop” has to be in the withdrawal agreement.

“It can be changed really only in one way that I can see, which is moving towards … a really close trading relationship between the U.K. and the EU,” he said, suggesting a “really deep free-trade agreement” and “a customs union partnership that would be so close to the customs union that it wouldn’t necessitate some of the elements of the backstop” as possible viable models.

Full alignment

The outline of the potential agreement dates back to December, when the U.K. agreed, as one of the options on Ireland, to “maintain full alignment” for Northern Ireland with the rules of the EU’s single market and customs union in some sectors.

The European Commission has since translated this commitment into legal text — the backstop — proposing a new “common regulatory area” between the EU and Northern Ireland to ensure the “free movement of goods” across the border with the Republic after Brexit. Northern Ireland will also be considered “part of the customs territory of the Union,” according to the draft legal text.

The proposal was dismissed out of hand by Theresa May, who said “no U.K. prime minister” could ever agree to implement such a proposal, which was seen as effectively creating a customs and trade barrier within the U.K. — between Northern Ireland and the rest of the country.

U.K. officials in private say the proposal will have to be rewritten or replaced wholesale. But they also say it is not quite as stark as first portrayed, arguing that the Commission’s opening position was actually that Northern Ireland should remain in “a limited subset of the single market” — following rules that pertain to the Good Friday peace agreement, the all-island economy and the north-south cooperation — not the full single market.

U.K. Brexit Secretary David Davis | Andy Rain/EPA

It was also unclear whether this new “common regulatory area” necessarily means the single market and all its rules, or whether it could mean two distinct economies with “equivalent” regulations for the sake of cross-border trade. If the latter, U.K. officials hope, the EU may accept the scope of its initial offer being extended to the whole of the U.K. and not just Northern Ireland.

The key issues for debate, according to one senior U.K. official, is how the two sides can deliver “full alignment” and what the territorial scope of that commitment will be — the U.K. or Northern Ireland.

The starting point of the U.K.’s position will be that “full alignment” should apply to goods and a limited number of services sectors, one U.K. official said.

Customs conundrum

On the customs issue, the proposal that Northern Ireland is subsumed into the EU’s customs territory is a non-starter with London, and U.K. negotiators will push for this clause to be scrapped and replaced.

The alternative would be based on one of the two customs arrangements set out by the government in August last year and reaffirmed by May in her Mansion House speech. They are either a customs partnership — known as the “hybrid” model internally — or the “highly streamlined customs arrangement” known by officials as “max-fac” or maximum facilitation.

The complexity and unprecedented nature of this solution has led to accusations from the Brussels side that it amounts to “magical thinking.”

The hybrid model would mean the U.K. continuing to police its border as if it were the EU’s customs border, but then tracking imports to apply different tariffs depending on which market they end up in — U.K. or EU. Under this scenario, because Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland would share an external EU customs border, as they do now, it would remove the need for checks on the land border between the two.

The complexity and unprecedented nature of this solution has led to accusations from the Brussels side that it amounts to "magical thinking."

The “max-fac” model is simpler conceptually but would represent a huge logistical effort for U.K. customs authorities. It would involve the use of technological and legal measures such as electronic pre-notification of goods crossing the border and a "trusted trader" status for exporters and importers, to make customs checks as efficient as possible.

While the U.K. will present both customs arrangements as possible ways of solving this aspect of the Irish border problem, one senior official said that the “hybrid” model was emerging as the preferred option in London, a view supported by one EU diplomat in close contact with the U.K.

François P

“According to the U.K. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the British proposal is for U.K.-wide “full alignment” single market rules and regulations for trade in goods — alongside a new customs arrangement between the U.K. and EU.”

This sounds very much like the Norway model for goods and the Canadian model for services. Several think tanks have made suggestions in that direction. IMHO, the EU27 will have two key questions:

1. Do they want to develop a completely new model, beside the EEA model and the FTA model? The key question is whether they would accept membership of the single market for a subset of economic sectors. Sounds okayish in theory, but is very problematic in practice.

2. If yes, what about so-called flanking policies, such as consumer protection, environmental rules, labour rights, FoM and budget contribution? These flanking policies cut across all sectors. The EU won’t accept that they don’t apply to the UK. But these policies are probably what makes single market membership unattractive to the UK. Could the EU27 that some of them don’t apply to the UK?

The UK customs proposals look as weak as ever, anyway.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 7:04 AM CET

Priscilla du Bleu

Now that face hints at a very entertaining solution, whatever it may turn out to be.

On a sidenote, Treeza, your suits needs ironing. Both ‘HUGO BOSS WOMAN’ and ‘Armani’ in their Emporio line both offer nice pantsuits that survive travelling without creasing, if i may offer you this advice among us ladies.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 7:08 AM CET

Priscilla du Bleu

@Francois:

@1: methinks the EU said some time ago that ‘full alignment’ would not suffer as basis, IIRC it was Barnier or Tusk when visiting #10, so i would assume the do not change their minds and mere alignment won’t do. Also, the backbenchers won’t permit even part-membership in the SM, because … vassall state, they wouldn’t have any saying but would be ruletakers.

@2: rightie, the 4 freedoms: they will kill any of treeza’s caving in efforts.

Have a good day!

Posted on 3/26/18 | 7:17 AM CET

-> tpk

For Leavers very likely too remainy, for EU too many cherries. Funny aspect that Ireland now shall turn into a leverage for UK.
Good bye to all the different solutions how UK would solve Ireland invented by Leavers here on the fly pretending they were the official solution.

Now let’s see if Leavers will back this and how flexible EU will react. It definitely feels like a super soft Brexit. Wonder how much Brexit will be left when this went through Brussels.

EUROPE Peace and Love

-> tpk

“using Ireland as a lever to win concessions on trade for the whole of the U.K.”

May is indeed using Ireland as a leverage but rather against Leavers than against EU.
The only hope for Leavers to get a Brexit they want is the NI solution (if they don’t want to set up a border).
The funny thing is that our Leavers here in Politico seem quite representative for the Leavers in whole of UK: they are somehow not capable of seeing this point. They don’t see that NI would be their holy grail. And by categorically denouncing NI May actually axed the possibility for a harder Brexit.
What Leavers seem to be completely missing to do is coming up with a workable and sound alternative for Brexit. So in the end they will have to accept again everything May will put before them.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 9:28 AM CET

Steuersklav Erei

@ Francois P

You raise good questions. The whole point, of course, is for the UK to get 3 our of the 4 freedoms of the EU single market (goods, services and capital) without the free movement of people.

This is indeed ‘cherry-picking’ and as tpk has rightly commented, the Irish border question has now shifted into an area of UK leverage rather than EU leverage, not least because the Irish government has now realised that it has been sold out by Brussels and is therefore in a panic demanding the most comprehensive-ever free trade deal with the UK.

Obviously, ‘cherry-picking’ is an unacceptable to the EU as the EU demand to annex Northern Ireland is to the UK. But there is more weight behind the UK proposal. An EU-UK single market for goods (like Norway-EU) but more limited one for services (like Canada-EU) is also ‘cherry-picking’ the UK market, given the large structural deficit that the UK has in traded goods with the EU. For this reason alone, May’s proposal just might be entertained by Brussels.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 10:45 AM CET

-> tpk

@Jack
If EU stays true to its word, and until now it has, than EU will not back down on its 4 freedoms. So UK will not be able to pick the cherries it wants withoug paying a price (FoM, ECJ, Fees, …). Perhaps not in name, but in principle. This will go direction EEA++ or EU membership 2.0. And there should only be a very tiny if ever wiggle room for other FTAs.
If you are fine with that than welcome back!

Posted on 3/26/18 | 10:48 AM CET

Steuersklav Erei

@ tpk

‘If EU stays true to its word, and until now it has, than EU will not back down on its 4 freedoms.’

True. But the UK government can always claim that such cherry-picking is necessary in order to avoid a hard border in Ireland. The ball will then be back in the EU’s court.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 11:04 AM CET

-> tpk

@Steuersklav Erei
Isn’t the mood regarding FoM slowly shifting in UK? Many sectors in UK are missing the workforce, the great wave might be over anyway (due to eastern countries improving) and finally your (service) industry needs FoM to work in EU. Add some shifts regarding FoM in EU and some of the home office in UK and all might be happy?

Posted on 3/26/18 | 11:11 AM CET

-> tpk

@Jack du Boot
Right, I forgot. EU will just ask which of the cherries you would and in what present paper it shall wrap them for you.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 11:13 AM CET

Alex Tate

@Priscilla Blau

“On a sidenote, Treeza, your suits needs ironing. Both ‘HUGO BOSS WOMAN’ and ‘Armani’ in their Emporio line both offer nice pantsuits that survive travelling without creasing,”

It is surely rather your Angula Merkin that eternally wears trouser suits, so some new ones for her in much less garish and considerably more tasteful colours would be to be welcomed. Perhaps some by Hugo Boss, as you suggest. After all, Hugo Boss were the designers of the SS dress uniforms, and ‘Mutti’ (as you insist on calling the waddling tent) would surely look good all in black. Or at least better than she does at present.

Huh? Innit?

Posted on 3/26/18 | 11:22 AM CET

-> tpk

@Jack
If you are not wow than you are channeling him very well.
If EU ever agreed on mutual recognition than only in a way that it could safeguard that UK could not deviate from EUs in a serious way. Otherwise 27 countries would make themselves a vasall of UK. Not likely, hm? So expect EU to make the regulations and UK to follow them. Taking back control in name only.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 11:22 AM CET

-> tpk

@Steuersklave
EU should kick the ball back saying “no way”. Then UK might do some meaningless changes, EU says no again. By that we should slip into transition and never get out.

I don’t see RoI panicking by the way, in fact they should be very relaxed. UK seems to be serious about the no border and is not talking about a Canada border.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 11:31 AM CET

Donal O'Brien

Att Balls du bleu

Well BALLS

First post yesterday 8:57
Long ————-long———-day again
Make sure you but in for your EXPENSES

Address

BATTERSEA for two SUBHUMANS 7 cats
Smell sounds right
Address is a Lie

Are you sure it’s not a QUARANTINE with
Lock down BOLTS

CHEERS FOR BREXIT
ALLWAYS
DONAL O BRIEN

Posted on 3/26/18 | 11:37 AM CET

Steuersklav Erei

@ tpk

‘Isn’t the mood regarding FoM slowly shifting in UK? Many sectors in UK are missing the workforce, the great wave might be over anyway (due to eastern countries improving) and finally your (service) industry needs FoM to work in EU. Add some shifts regarding FoM in EU and some of the home office in UK and all might be happy?’

Well, freedom of movement for me personally is not a huge issue as I am pro-immigration. But I understand why EU/EEA freedom of movement is a problem for the UK, basically for 2 reasons:

1) the UK economic model of taxpayer-subsidised low wages as a burden both for UK taxpayers for employers who use this as an excuse not to invest in productivity at French and German levels, and

2) UK nationals don’t really use the freedom of movement. Wealthy UK pensioners retire to Spain (stimulating rather than burdening the local economy, even in terms of healthcare costs which are repatriated to the UK) but poor UK workers do not migrate to the EU27 hardly at all. In other words, freedom of movement is a right which the UK pays a lot for but does not use.

More importantly, freedom of movement is part of a package, namely the Norway option, which the EU has been desperate for the UK to agree to. But the EEA option isn’t very appealing to the UK (more appealing than a Turkey-style customs union, admittedly). A huge European economy which only makes something like 10% of its GDP in terms of EU/EEA/Swiss trade would be regulated by external EU single market rules over which it has no formal say. This would turn the UK into an EU satellite.

So, no opinion is not really shifting in favour of freedom of movement in the UK. EEA membership has been ruled out, and freedom of movement was seen as the most burdensome part of the EEA. There is still a desire for open and high immigration, however (which, of course, is not the same as free movement and also not restricted to the EU).

Posted on 3/26/18 | 11:45 AM CET

Steuersklav Erei

@ tpk

‘I don’t see RoI panicking by the way, in fact they should be very relaxed. UK seems to be serious about the no border and is not talking about a Canada border.’

Well, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said something very revealing to a journalist outside an EU summit a few days ago, along the lines that ‘the border issue must have the backing of the EU so that we can see what the benefits of staying in the EU are’. The implication there, of course, is Heresy. ‘Eirexit’ isn’t going to happen of course (or at least not any time soon), but the translation of Varadkar’s message to the EU is: ‘OK, you have let us down on the border question, so you had better offer the UK a damned good trade deal to keep the border as minimal as possible’.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 11:50 AM CET

Antoine uk

So full cake! …
1 – Not sure what services have got to do with Northern Ireland problem…
2 – As for customs control for goods and animals, this is only part of border control…so FTA is not good enough

Well, the devil will be in the detail but it seems difficult to create a new system when the existing systems (EU, SM, CU, FTA, WTO) have taken so many decades to build.

I hope it is not a ruse to apportion blame rather than find a workable solution…

Posted on 3/26/18 | 12:23 PM CET

Steuersklav Erei

@ Antoine uk

‘I hope it is not a ruse to apportion blame rather than find a workable solution…’

The problem for the EU is that the UK will provide a workable solution on terms which gives the UK most of what it wants…

Posted on 3/26/18 | 12:36 PM CET

Alan

@tpk
@Steuersklav Erei

The EU was always clear that the ‘four freedoms’ were sacrosanct. That is why Mrs May made it very clear at the beginning around the time of the Article 50 letter that the UK accepted this and that that was why we were leaving the single market/customs union. No cherry picking was the mantra on both sides – which is why an FTA type arrangement is the only one on the table.

Freedom of movement as it exists today is a dead issue. Control of movement is the way forward and as Steuersklav points out it is not immigration per se which is the issue but the ability to control it & to set policy to meet UK needs.

Taking the control issue further, mutual recognition/acceptance is the way forward. It also follows that what Francois P calls ‘flanking issues’ such as consumer protection, environmental rights, labour rules, state aid, tax policy, trade policy etc will be domestic UK matters moderated only by international standards agreed in fora where the UK will be represented in its own right.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 12:38 PM CET

-> tpk

@Alan, Jack
“mutual recognition/acceptance is the way forward”

If you mean by this that UK would be free to accept a new EU regulation or not, or if you mean that UK could change a regulation without having the agreement of EU than I am sure this will not work.
Don’t forget, EU is not Brussels but 27 countries. This sounds to me that UK would have as much power over regulations as the other 27 countries together.
Or what does mutual recognition if fact mean?

Posted on 3/26/18 | 1:19 PM CET

-> tpk

@Steuersklav Erei
Sorry, I do not get your Ireland point?

Posted on 3/26/18 | 1:21 PM CET

-> tpk

@Jack
You don’t see the basic point: UK desperatly NEEDS the hated EU to solve the Ireland problem. You are neither in a position to choose or dictate anything.

As you practically dropped no deal and as a border in Ireland is no option UK has hardly any leverage. You are on your way to EEA++, FoM included. A Hammond-BDI-Brexit.

If not suddenly a mircale appears. Perhaps your beloved Merkel will come to your rescue.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 1:30 PM CET

Steuersklav Erei

@ tpk

‘Sorry, I do not get your Ireland point?’

The Taoiseach’s choice of words was significant. He urged the EU to solve the Irish border issue in order to ‘show the benefits of being in the EU’.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 2:00 PM CET

John C. O´Jones

The ONLY solution to this mess created by our dear Brexitards is the reunification of Ireland.
1 Island, 1 Country.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 2:00 PM CET

Ramon Landete

@John C. O´Jones

Ireland for the Irish – Keep your Polish and we control our own tax — YEHAAAW !

Posted on 3/26/18 | 2:20 PM CET

Peter Monta

Is there anything at all, Jack, that doesn’t sound to you like a full free comprehensive trade agreement with services? Repeat away Jack. And wish. Wish very very hard. Close your eyes tightly and wish with all your might. You’re still going to be hit by a bus.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 2:58 PM CET

-> tpk

@Jack
There is a huge gap between FTA and what is needed to keep the border frictionless. As long as the filters in your certainly not stupid brain don’t permit you to understand that it’s pointless to dicsuss with you about regulations and related matters.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 4:44 PM CET

Alan

@tpk

Post Brexit UK will not require EU approval to change any of its laws or regulation, neither will the EU require UK approvals.
Where there are differences I would expect those to be discussed within the dispute resolution process which will have equal representation from UK & EU, it will be up to the EU reps to herd the remaing 27 cats

Posted on 3/26/18 | 6:18 PM CET

François P

If the UK wants to try the “Norway model for goods, Canada model for services”, then there will be full alignment to EU rules and standards for goods. That means compliance with EU harmonised rules and standards, except when mutual recognition of rules and standards is used by EU member states. It will also mean full compliance with almost all flanking policies, also according to EU rules and standards. I am sure the UK wouldn’t like that, and will try to get opt-outs, especially on FoM and budget contributions. And the UK will have no say on setting the rules.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 7:13 PM CET

Priscilla du Bleu

@tpk
“@Jack du Boot
Right, I forgot. EU will just ask which of the cherries you would and in what present paper it shall wrap them for you.”

AND since the EU is to serve our dearest saggy booty they will soak the cherries for at least a fortnight in alc ;-D

Posted on 3/26/18 | 7:16 PM CET

Reinhard Lipkow

@François P

I never thought I’d say it, but I think the UK has far more leverage than you give them credit for.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 7:37 PM CET

-> tpk

@Alan
27 states putting themselves at the mercy of UK? You would have to ask Putin to work a special mad cow disease gas into EUs air condition during a summit.
I really wonder where you guy get this overbearing self-confidence from.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 7:38 PM CET

-> tpk

@François
Why Canada and services when they are in SM with at least one foot already for goods? To get more freedom for the City? Or are services connected to even more red lines?

Posted on 3/26/18 | 7:43 PM CET

François P

@tpk

Don’t try to rationalise the UK position too much.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 7:47 PM CET

François P

@Reinhard Lipkow

“I never thought I’d say it, but I think the UK has far more leverage than you give them credit for.”

It isn’t a matter of leverage, but a matter of logic.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 7:54 PM CET

Sonja Kiendl

According to the net Germanys yearly contribution which was forecast to increase by 3.5 billion in Feb, is now estimated to increase by 7 billion a year. With no rebate.
I am not happy about that. 🙁 I expect the French contribution will face a be similare increase.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 7:57 PM CET

blue bell

@tpk
If you are of a suspicious mind you will think the solution has been pretty much selected and just need fine tuning now. During the 28 November meeting of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, a workshop was held on ‘The implications of Brexit on the Irish border’. This workshop, organised by Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs, featured four experts presenting three research papers.

Dr. David PHINNEMORE, Professor of European Politics; Dean of Education (Queen’s University Belfast); Visiting Professor (College of Europe, Bruges); and Dr. Katy HAYWARD Reader in Sociology (Queen’s University Belfast); Senior Research Fellow (Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice) presented the paper on ‘UK Withdrawal (‘Brexit’) and the Good Friday Agreement’.

Dr. Lars KARLSSON, President of KGH Border Services; Former Director of World Customs Organization; Deputy Director General of Swedish Customs presented the research paper on ‘Smart Border 2.0 – Avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland for Customs control and the free movement of persons’.

Dr. John TEMPLE LANG, Solicitor; Adjunct Professor in Trinity College Dublin; Senior Research Fellow in Oxford, presented the paper ‘Brexit and Ireland – Legal, Political and Economic Considerations’

Dr Lars Karlsson, President of KGH Border Services; Former Director of World Customs Organization; Deputy Director General of Swedish Customs has also appeared before a committee of mps in Westminster.

I have put up a link if you are interested “http://www.europarl.europa.eu/ep-live/en/committees/video?event=20171128-1430-COMMITTEE-AFCO”

Posted on 3/26/18 | 8:06 PM CET

Sonja Kiendl

@Steuersklav Erei

Is right, No one wants a border and Varadker is questioning the value of remaining within the EU.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 8:13 PM CET

EU doublestandards

@tpk

“Isn’t the mood regarding FoM slowly shifting in UK?”

No tpk not really. The media keeps making a big deal about Europeans leaving, and pro-remain broadcasters like the BBC use the NHS as a reason why Brexit should be reconsidered, but the truth is the average person on the street just sees large employers complaining about losing their cheap workforces, and the majority of the exodus taking place in London (for whom no one has much sympathy amongst the rest of the UK). Those outside the capital just see a rebalancing of the workforce taking place as economic migrants look for the next big gravy train and move on, whilst employers and the government face up to the fact that they’ve been driving wages down for too long and neglecting training and incentivising indigenous workers.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 8:26 PM CET

Sonja Kiendl

@EU doublestandards

I have to agree. I think that the majority of people in the EU often see that particular one of the 4 pillars (FoM) as nothing more than ‘code’ for cheap labour. It’s not really a freedom for anyone other than for employers that wish to obtain a cheap labour force from the newer members to support their older, more mature and often stagnent economies. FoM is outmoded and is only a short term solution for the economic problems facing the economies of the more developed members.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 8:38 PM CET

-> tpk

@blue bell

Thanks for the link, had a look into it. Good inside. The border 2.0 guy is quite interesting. He said that a completely new combination of existing models and standards could deliver a frictionless border. Difficult to judge him though. He makes a living from building borders after all 🙂 And having the thing set up in 2 years seems very, very ambitious. For certain they have not agreed on anything, they were just informing each other.
As I understand the article above UK will also try to make use of electronics but will focus more on the trade deal than on border magic.

Posted on 3/26/18 | 10:05 PM CET

François P

A comment on eureferendum.com, written by the brexiteer Dr. North, on the smart border 2.0 report:

“In his report, Karlsson takes a special look at the Sweden-Norway border, offering the border control system as the starting point for a more comprehensive system. Using the best of available technology and systems, grafted on to the Sweden-Norway system – he believes we would provide a frictionless border between the two Irelands.

But, with the focus entirely on customs, he fails to take into account that both countries are in the single market, one in the EU and the other and Efta/EEA state. Both adopt internally the “official controls”. Therefore, neither country treats the other as a “third country” and there is no application of official controls at the border, and no requirement for phytosanitary controls.

Nor are these minor or incidental omissions. Karlsson is clearly out of his depth. In his evidence to the select committee yesterday, he talked about “trusted trader” schemes to deal with agriculture. In slightly more detail, he tells the Irish Times that: “Checks under sanitary rules, a key regulatory area for agricultural trade, could be covered under the trusted trader arrangements”.

Clearly, the man has no knowledge of non-customs systems. The AEO “trusted trader” certification is a customs system and has no bearing on sanitary or phytosanitary issues. The EU does not operate a preferential access system to BIPs and DPsE and, under WTO rules, they are required to give access on the same terms, in a non-discriminatory manner, to all third country users.”

Posted on 3/26/18 | 10:47 PM CET

Peter Monta

New backstop plan? I suppose that is one way of putting it. New surrender plan is another. All Britain has to do is come up with a plan that not a single other member of the EU objects to strongly enough to veto. What could possibly go wrong?

Posted on 3/26/18 | 11:28 PM CET

blue bell

@tpk
Dr Karlsson’s smart border 2.0 report was commissioned by the EU and was a general look at border issues and therefore has limited application to Ireland.

However, it does provide a basis for further work to be undertaken specifically in relation to Ireland presumably by the UK.

I would be surprised if the EU does not find some use for this report in the future for application in other locations and for other purposes.

Posted on 3/27/18 | 1:49 PM CET

Anthony Chambers

@François P: I think you have a very myopic view on the actual functioning of the EEA systems. Let me try to explain a very important detail to you, the EEA single market is NOT the same as the EU single market. It does not cover anywhere near the same breadth as the EU. In many respects the coverage of EEA is actually smaller than CETA.

The reason there are some controls on the border between Sweden and Norway are Meat and Alcohol. Agricultural goods are excluded from the EEA agreements. Likewise, Alcohol and Tobacco. So in addition to people not being able to import Alcohol and Tobacco for their personal use (above the normal import Quota’s for all Countries), they are also not allowed to import Meat and Dairy. That is one very important reason why the EEA model is completely useless for solving the problems with Ireland, Meat and Dairy is one of their main exports.

There is no getting around this, all sides need a mix of Canada and Norway to get the result that will solve the border issues.

Posted on 3/27/18 | 3:04 PM CET

Anthony Chambers

@François P: The answer to the Irish problem can be found in the Norwegian border, but not in the way you might imagine. The answer is this, there are epidemic levels of smuggling on that border. But instead of the government basically closing the border, they choose to look the other way. Everyone knows that any Norwegian close to the border will probably do their weekly shopping in Sweden. In that shopping will probably be a number of products that are not allowed into Norway without paying tariffs, excises or duties. Instead of worrying about that, they just ignore that. What they don’t ignore is companies do that. So you cannot load up a van with goods, drive it to Norway and start selling goods from the back of that lorry. That gets you jail time.

Which in short hand is one of the UK’s suggestions. Formalise that by not attempting to collect anything from individuals, only collect from major companies.

Posted on 3/27/18 | 3:12 PM CET

lib crit

Brexit is the total humiliation of the UK

Posted on 3/27/18 | 5:07 PM CET

Priscilla du Bleu

@Sonja Kiendl
“According to the net Germanys yearly contribution which was forecast to increase by 3.5 billion in Feb, is now estimated to increase by 7 billion a year. With no rebate.
I am not happy about that. I expect the French contribution will face a be similare increase.”

I take it that math was not your forte at school.

Germany had an annual GDP of roughly 3,687 billion in 2017. …. Germany’s TOTAL contributions to the EU in 2016 was roughly 0.6% of its entire GDP.

7 billion more? YAAAAWN.

Can you specify why this worries you?

http : / / www . money-go-round . eu / Country.aspx?id=DE

Posted on 3/27/18 | 10:13 PM CET

Priscilla du Bleu

@Alex Tate

Yaaaaawn! Finally, a 3rd reich reference in a sartorial matter … you’re outdoing yourself. Now, can you make up some respective reference in connection with, let’s say, pancakes?

Posted on 3/28/18 | 6:23 AM CET

Priscilla du Bleu

@Sonja Kiendl
“Contributions are not paid magically by some mythical thing called GDP.
It is taxpayers who have to shoulder the burden – From our own pockets.

It is easy to deduce that etiquette was no your forte.”

LOL, yes, how impolite from me to point out that even 7 more billion will still not raise Germany’s total contributions above 1% (!!!!) of their GDP :-D, how could I? It’s my 50% british upperclass arrogance, i am afraid, the innate british attitude towards you 100% german warmonger.

Let’s put it this way: of course you have the freedom to worry about peanuts / rounding errors in excel sheets 😀 and be unhappy about peanuts – to each their own, after all, if you are one for peanuts, so be it …. i am just wondering why this bothers you – as a German, which you implied to be – so much.

Posted on 3/28/18 | 6:32 AM CET

Priscilla du Bleu

@Sonja

PS: “Contributions are not paid magically by some mythical thing called GDP.
It is taxpayers who have to shoulder the burden – From our own pockets.”

Nope, not in the UK. The maybutt has a magic money tree 😀 …. her 1 bn for the orange DUPers …. she shook her tree and off it fell. Magic, pure magic.

Other than that: these 1% are a small price to pay for your continuing leadership within the EU, so money well invested. Do you have problems with well invested peanuts???

Posted on 3/28/18 | 6:38 AM CET

Priscilla du Bleu

@Sonja Kiendl … i just googled you, since you appear to be a webdesigner and administrate networks, although on a very different level than i do 😀 …. feel free to register on the forum i am one of the admins of www . hackerz . org.

Since you are a pro, it should be …. peanuts …. for you to get pass our little digital threshold :-D.

Posted on 3/28/18 | 6:46 AM CET

Stiv Ocssor

Screw exceptionalism, I’m more concerned about the fishermen who voted Tory because they thought that was the best way to protect the fishing industry only to discover that they have been stabbed in the back by the Conservatives.
We plebs are being betrayed by the Tories for banking, cheap foreign labour and big business.

Posted on 3/29/18 | 12:00 AM CET

NK .

Britain is like a fishbone which eventually will be stuck in throats choking the EU27 if Brussels keep on snoring. Learn from history and save EU.